Question

the distribution of the salaries at a small business is strongly skewed with many people making very modest salaries and a few making very large salaries. which measure of center, mean or median, is a better indication of a \typical\ salary at this business?
the mean is better because it is not affected by the high salaries.
the median is better because it is not affected by the high salaries.
it cannot be determined without knowing the actual salaries.
either one would be a good measure of a typical salary because they are the same value.

Explanation:

The mean is affected by extreme values (the high - salary outliers). The median, which is the middle value when the data is ordered, is not affected by extreme values. In a strongly skewed distribution (with a few large values), the median gives a better representation of a "typical" value.

Answer:

The median is better because it is not affected by the high salaries.